Mahou Sensei Negima!: The Tormented
by amishrolf
Summary: a spoof off the Tecmo hit, Fatal Frame. Kazumi Asakura finds herself in the Manor of Sleep after the death of her lover, Sayo. Haunted by the past, can Kazumi end the curse of the Snake Tattoo and put an end to the nightmare? Hints of Shoujoai, just so yo
1. Hour 0: The Calling

**:: Fatal Frame 111: The Tormented ::**

**Mahora Academy Edition**

**By ZazieMiyazaki**

**Characters by Ken Akamatsu**

**Original Story from Tecmo / Project Zero**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**:: Hour Zero ::**

_**(Daydream) The Calling**_

_I remember that night all too well . . . It's all my fault isn't it?_

Kazumi Asakura kept her hand on the steering-wheel of her car. She looked ahead of the road and stared at the sharp turns. It was raining hard and those sharp turns didn't make the driving any easier. She sighed and mumbled at the driving conditions, then felt a light touch on her shoulder. On the passenger seat was Sayo Aizaka, Kazumi's special someone. Kazumi deeply loved Sayo, as Sayo loved Kazumi the same. The silky haired Sayo was silent throughout the car ride, most likely to have fallen sleepy on the way back. Kazumi smiled at Sayo, appreciating the comfort she gave her.

"Still a long drive home, huh?"

"Mhmm, if only it wasn't raining so hard, we would've gotten home a lot sooner."

"Sayo, could you hand me the files? I'd like to take a look at them real quick."

Sayo reluctantly reached for the manila folder and peeked inside it. Sayo began to have a bad feeling about handing it over to her pony-tailed lover. Kazumi waited patiently and focused on the road.

"Kazumi, should you really look at the papers as you drive?"

"It'll only be a second, Sayo. You worry too much."

Sayo still didn't want to hand the papers to Kazumi, as much as she loved her. Kazumi insisted with a nod. Sayo tried thinking of other suggestions when Kazumi simply slipped it out of Sayo's hand. Slowing down the vehicle just a bit and keeping one hand on the wheel, Kazumi opened and took out the papers to glimpse at. Sayo grew a bit more insecure at Kazumi as she looked at the papers. Sayo kept an eye on the road as well, frequently looking back at Kazumi as well.

"Kazumi please, the road."

Sayo said worrying and almost panicking. Kazumi continued to read, only occasionally looking at the road. The rain was pouring harder; the front window was becoming much more distorted despite how fast the windshield wipers went. The road became a winding death trap waiting to trigger itself at the right moment.

"Kazumi, please pay attention to the road, it's really dangerous out."

"I'll only be a second. Everything will be fine"

"Even if you say that, I –"

Just then they heard a car horn go off and Kazumi found herself driving on the wrong side of the road. A truck was heading their way and its breaks screeched but showed no sign of slowing down.

"Shit, hold on!"

Kazumi took the wheel and sharply turned it off the side of the road to avoid the truck. But their troubles had only begun when the car went out of control and turned over several times, hitting several trees and fences. The girls screamed until the car came to a sudden stop. The rain poured through the broken windows, the two of the girls still inside. Kazumi had gotten out soon after and held her left arm close, feeling that it was injured. She looked around for Sayo, who she had thought gotten out of the car by now. Kazumi grew more worried when she began to call out for her, but with no reply. She headed around the car and to the passenger side to find Sayo, lying on the ground. Kazumi's face grew pale as she knelt down to her lover's side. Next to her was the manila envelope, soaking itself in the rain. Placing a hand over Sayo's wrist, Kazumi checked for her pulse hoping what might've happened didn't. But luck was not on her side . . . Sayo was dead.

"No . . . n-no . . . "

Kazumi began to cry the instant she discovered her beloved Sayo was no longer alive. Words could not describe her great grief. She began to hit herself, knowing that had she only listened to Sayo, none of this would have happened. The rain, cold, and dark atmosphere only made that feeling more intense. It was all too perfect for breaking down even the most care-free and happy of people. Kazumi suddenly began to hear a voice calling out for her. With the blink of an eye, Kazumi found herself in daylight, inside an old abandoned mansion. Sunlight was shining through the holes in the ceiling, lighting up the room and giving it an almost comforting atmosphere. As she stood in the room, Kazumi was holding her camera when she remembered she was investigating the very mansion she was in for a report.

"You were spacing out again, Kazumi-san. You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't let it concern you."

With a nod, Chisame Hasegawa, Kazumi's assistant and room mate, began to look around the foyer part of the old wooden building. Kazumi shot several more photos with her Polaroid for the paper she works with. Looking at the photos, she found one in particular that caught her attention. The photo pictured a lonely hallway; standing by the corner was an image of someone there. Kazumi looked up from the photo to the actual site. The person was still there, standing silently and almost lifeless. Kazumi could've sworn there was no one there to begin with. The person in question however, was someone Kazumi held dear.

". . . S-Sayo, is that really you?"

A bright light flashed through her mind. Kazumi began to see darkness shrouding the mansion. Eerie voices and sounds relayed through the strange distorted reality. Screams and shouts of people were heard; Kazumi was lost and confused in the spiraling portal of horror. When the madness stopped, Kazumi found herself back to her reality. She gasped for air and looked around.

"W-what just happened? First I see Sayo and . . . Sayo!"

Kazumi turned her attention to the same empty hallway. Sayo was gone. Kazumi stood silent for a bit and looked at the photos. Sayo was no longer in the hallway picture. Chisame headed back to Kazumi, tapping her shoulder.

"Hey, it's almost time that we head back. You ready to go? I've already got the rest of the camera equipment in the car."

"Oh okay, let's head on back. I got the photos we needed."

That night, as Kazumi lay in her bed, thinking about that tragic night. Eventually she fell asleep, only to have fallen into what might've been the nightmare that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Awakening to find herself in front of a tall, looming mansion, Kazumi felt as though what she's experiencing is a dream unlike any she ever had. It was snowing outside and many ceremonial lanterns were lit, leading the way towards the manor's front doors. The building looked old, but still fairly stable. Kazumi wondered what might be in such a large place. To her right, she found an alter packed with tombstones and lit candles.

"A funeral home, maybe? But why would I even be here?"

A sound caught her attention. It was the sound of someone opening a door. Kazumi turned, seeing the late Sayo silently fade through the door. The door had never moved, but the sound of it closing continued.

"Sayo, where are you going?"

Kazumi passed through the double doors, as set off to finding and meeting Sayo once more. There she was deeper inside the manor, but still she was outside on some sort of patio. There was another set of double doors and both ways leading to it were hallways on each side of the rectangular yard. In front of the double doors was Sayo, who again, walked right through the doors. Kazumi walked over to the doors, walking by the hallways to get to it. As she did, a child spirit appeared at the hallway entrance and bowed. On the other side of the walk way, there was another spirit who did the same. This frightened Kazumi only but a little bit and kept walking. Once she reached the large double doors, Kazumi set her hands on the door handles and slowly opened the door. She heard soft voices, like children's voices. They sang a slow rather subduing song.

_Sleep priestess, lie in sleep . . . Sleep priestess, lie in sleep . . . _

Then, a bright light flashed through the door and Kazumi again found herself awake in her bed. Taking a few moments to catch her breath, she heard her bedroom door open.

"Kazumi-san, you were restless again."

It was only Chisame. The girl in glasses asked Kazumi if she was alright, concerned about her behavior as she slept. Kazumi simply smiled lightly.

"Ah, don't worry about it much. I was just having a bad dream, that's all."

"Must have been some dream if you were rolling around a lot. Anyway, I got breakfast ready so come on down already."

Kazumi sat up and hugged her legs close to her when Chisame left the room. She looked at her hands and wondered.

"That place . . . it felt so real. But why was Sayo there? Could she be . . . calling me?"

Kazumi sat on her bed and stared outside the window. She pulled the curtains back and looked at the soft, gray sky. The rain poured lightly all around the neighborhood. Its soft atmosphere, however, wasn't enough to rid the disturbing dream.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	2. Hour 1: The Sign, Night 1

**:: Hour One ::**

_**The Sign**_

Night One

The night, as she went to bed, Kazumi woke up to find herself in front of the large mansion once again. With no where else to go, there was only one way out of the dream – to go inside the mansion. The double doors creaked loudly as they opened, leading Kazumi into a foyer-like area. Old cloths covered the furniture down a long hallway which led to an intersection. Sacred rope riddled the walls and ceiling. Kazumi followed the hallway down and to an end where there was but one wooden door. As she got closer, a specter formed in front of the door. It was the spirit of a young girl, who looked no more than 4 or 6 years old. It was only a brief moment that the child looked at Kazumi and faded away. Kazumi opened the door, which brought her to a hearth room. Everything looked old a somewhat unstable. There was an old fireplace in the middle of the room, along with a small pot hanging over it.

"What is this place?"

Kazumi wondered when the little girl had shown herself once more. But she wasn't alone this time. The little girl was accompanied by a much taller and older woman. The two of them stared at Kazumi for a little while, frightening the journalist girl. Again, like the little girl had done just before, the two of them vanished. Kazumi felt her heart beat slightly faster, uncertain if she wanted to progress further. She saw a flight of stairs going up against the wall. Upstairs she saw a candle flicker and a shadow pass. Could be that someone actually lived in the mansion?

"H-hello, is anyone there?"

Kazumi called. There was no answer. Afraid, but curious, Kazumi quietly walked up the stairs and found no one. However, on the ground next to a couple crates, there was a camera. Kazumi knelt down to it and examined the camera. It was certainly an antique, but it looked as thought it can still function like it were new. On the back, there was an inscription which read 'Camera Obscura'.

"This must be what it's called . . . "

Taking it along with her, Kazumi found another door on the upper level. Opening that door as well, she was led into a corridor room. There was a barred window on the left wall, which peeked into the next room. In the middle of the corridor, there seemed to a hidden room. Following one side of the path, Kazumi was led to find a peep hole and heard hammering from within. She was reluctant to look inside, but was wondering if it could be the person she had seen earlier. Looking inside, Kazumi saw a young girl, carving letters into the wall with a hammer and wooden pick. It was a disturbing sight, so Kazumi stepped back from the hole. Feeling that she should turn back, she heard crying before trying to leave the room.

"Crying?"

Kazumi turned a corner and behind some screen doors, she saw a woman in a fetal position, hugging her legs close to her chest. The woman mumbled a few words. Kazumi got closer to her, kneeling down by the screen door.

"Excuse me . . . "

"No, get them away from me! There're coming for me!"

The woman got up and ran somewhere on the other side of the room, out of view. Kazumi tried to look if she could somehow get through, but the screen wouldn't budge. Getting up, she headed back towards the way she came in. As she walked past the window, she felt an unnerving presence. She slowly took a peek off the side of the window and saw a deep blue spirit. Her back was covered in what looked like a snake tattoo. The spirit slowly began to turn around and Kazumi quickly got out of sight. Heading through the door finally, Kazumi decided to head back down the stairs. When she headed towards the door she came through, she heard a voice of a woman.

"Have you seen . . . him . . . ?"

Kazumi was scared and was too afraid to look behind her. Her mind is telling her not to look, but her body was already turning itself. She quickly turned around. There was no one there. Kazumi felt huge tension rising within her mind. She wanted out and fast. When she turned for the door again . . .

"Where did he go?"

Again, she stopped dead in her tracks. She knew where the voice was coming from but did not want to look down. And yet she did. There she was, the little girl who seemed to have been following her this whole time was sitting right at the tip of Kazumi's feet, blocking her only exit. Kazumi gasped and backed off quickly. Behind her however, was the mother of the child, slowly reaching out to Kazumi. Kazumi turned, and saw both the mother and daughter together, creeping closer ever-so slowly. Kazumi was in a panic. She didn't know what to do other than try to get the door open. There was no luck with the door, for it wouldn't budge still.

"Please open!"

Kazumi was running out of ideas, until she saw that she still had the camera with her. She pulled it out and aimed her viewfinder directly at the ghost. The woman reached her arms forward at Kazumi and let out a mournful moan. Suddenly, Kazumi snapped the photo and somehow, was able to fend the two spirits away. The room was silent once more.

"This camera . . . was able to get rid of those ghosts . . . how is this possible? What . . . what kind of camera is this?"

Figuring that she could worry about that later, Kazumi tried opening the door once again and, to her surprise, the door had opened. She quickly walked down the narrow hall when she then found the crying woman from before. Kazumi approached her carefully, trying not to startle her.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The woman didn't seem to pay much attention to her. All she did was mumble a few sentences.

"It's not my fault that I was the only one who survived the plane crash . . . "

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Kazumi tried asking the woman to talk to her, but she only mumbled faster and eventually shrieked and scampered across the ground on all fours to the other end of the wall. There was a bit of silence when the woman gasped and lifted her head sharply. She stared down the hallway and Kazumi too. The two of them saw a silhouette of a person. Slowly, the person began to walk towards the two of them, close enough so that Kazumi knew who it was that was walking to them. It was the blue tattooed woman from before.

"It's that lady!"

With a closer look, she saw that woman's entire upper torso was covered in the blue snake tattoo. The paranoid woman shouted and dashed away from her spot, leaving Kazumi with the tattooed lady. As the woman got closer, a dark mist or void was following her. Kazumi closed her eyes and braced her self for the outcome. Nothing happened. Slowly, Kazumi opened her eyes and say nothing down the hallway. Suddenly, the woman appeared right in front of Kazumi, shouting. Kazumi screamed and ran towards the exit. The blue woman chased Kazumi down the foyer hallway and reached an arm out to her in attempt to grab her. Just before Kazumi reached the doors, the blue woman lunged forward but was only able to touch Kazumi's back.

"_Let me sleep . . . forever_ . . . "

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Kazumi woke up in her bed, gasping for air. She was scared stiff and suddenly felt a great deal of pain on the spot on her back where the blue woman had touched her. Kazumi clenched her hand into a fist, enduring the pain as much as she can. She turned her head to look at her back when she saw a blue tattoo form just by her shoulder. Suddenly, her bedroom door opened.

"Kazumi, are you alright?"

Chisame was at the door, sounding a bit concerned about Kazumi.

"I heard shouting . . . a-are you sure you're fine?"

"I am . . . just a bad dream . . . "

Chisame looked at the floor and nodded, slowly closing the door. Kazumi sat in her room for few moments, trying to get the dream out of her head.

"What is going on . . ?"

Kazumi began her day with a morning cup of coffee. Beside her was Chisame, rummaging through a bag of papers and books. Kazumi looked at the bag and the papers her assistant pulled out to read and skim through the text. It was a very quiet morning – only the ceiling fan and the light electric whirring from the refrigerator was heard at the breakfast table. Kazumi took a sip of her coffee and set the mug on the table, letting of a sigh. Chisame looked up briefly at Kazumi and asked her,

"Kazumi, I know this isn't the time, but shouldn't you develop the photos we took at the mansion the other day?"

Kazumi looked back at Chisame and ran her index finger along the rim of her coffee mug. She tilted her head a bit and took her camera off the counter. Looking at it, she wound the film into the roll and popped the case open.

"I should, and tomorrow's our day off. We gotta finish what we can, and as much as we can right?"

Chisame nodded, continuing her shuffling through the bag of papers and books. Kazumi got up and kept the film stuffed tightly in her grasp, heading towards the darkroom. She opened the door to the foyer / hallway of her house and noticed the mail came early. Much earlier than the usual morning deliveries – maybe it was just late from yesterday. Kazumi picked up the small stack of envelopes, ignoring the usual letters to find a large manila folder. It was from Saotome Haruna, Sayo's research partner for the journalist team, and the envelope was addressed to none other than Sayo. It was obvious to Kazumi that Haruna doesn't know about what happened to Sayo, and felt that she should tell her. Kazumi decided that she could look at the envelope a bit later; she took it along with her to the darkroom. Before opening the darkroom door however, she heard a rustling behind the closet door, just down the end of the hall which was across from the darkroom door. She slowly headed down the hall and reluctantly placed her hand on the door knob. Afraid something would fall out, Kazumi stepped just behind the door as it she opened it. Something did fall out, but nothing frightening. It was only Kazumi's pet ermine, Chamo. The little furry animal scurried across the floor and into the shrine room. Kazumi followed the ermine.

"C'mere Chamo-kun"

For once in a long while, Kazumi felt happy and relieved all of her stress. She knelt down and picked up Chamo snuggling her cheek against the ermine's soft coat.

"Thanks for the surprise, Chamo-kun. You've somewhat brightened my day so far. I just wish . . ."

Kazumi looked at the shrine dedicated to Sayo. On the altar was a small camera which Sayo used to take pictures of Kazumi and herself on vacation. Next to the camera was a little bouquet of tsuwabuki flowers, grown and picked by Sayo and was given to Kazumi as a gift. In the very middle of the altar was a portrait photo of Sayo. The altar was semi-decorated with other flowers and came with the usual altar items. Kazumi took a moment to pray and pay her respect to Sayo, wishing her spirit a good afterlife. Finished, she smiled lightly and pet Chamo's fur.

"You miss her too, don't you?"

She released Chamo onto the tatami floor and watched him scurry off and through the house. Remembering what she was there for, Kazumi finally got up to the darkroom. Kazumi dipped the negatives into the developing fluid and clipped them onto the clothesline above the developing trays. Letting the negatives dry, Kazumi took out the photo paper, and began to develop the negatives onto the photo paper. As soon as the picture began to show, Kazumi noticed a person in the photo.

"This . . . is . . . "

The photo was same one that was taken at the old mansion's hallway corner. The very same place Kazumi had seen what might have been the ghost of Sayo. Kazumi simply stared at the picture for about as long as 5 minutes. She leaned back against the cabinets, holding the picture in her hand. She thought to herself, wondering just what could be going on and whether or not there was a reasonable explanation to all the strange things that happened recently. It seemed to Kazumi that it might have something to do with the strange visions and dreams she's been having. Having finished her photo developing, Kazumi decided she'd go back to living room, where she wouldn't feel too lonesome. Picking up the envelope from Haruna with her, she opened it up as she walked. Before she had a chance to look up the contents, Chisame was on the phone and called Kazumi over.

"Kazumi, there's someone who wants to talk to you. Someone named, Saotome Haruna?"

"Oh, here I'll take that."

Kazumi was handed the phone. Chisame saw Chamo scamper onto the couch and decided to go feed the house pet. Kazumi answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Kazumi."

"Hi, how're you doing? I'm calling to ask you if my little package arrived. Sayo was supposed to look them over but she never called back."

"W-well . . . about her not answering your calls . . . just a few nights ago . . . Sayo has passed away . . . "

There a pretty long moment of silence over the phone.

" . . . Really? Oh my god . . . Sayo's actually . . . I didn't realize . . . I'm so sorry for having to have brought it up. Is it alright if I come over sometime to pay my respect to her?"

"That would be alright."

"Okay, I'll stop by in a few days after work. Take care now."

"Thank you, Haruna."

"Oh yes, about the package I sent. Those are research papers for the mansion you guys visited just recently. I'm sorry if it came later than expected. It was hard to do the research alone, you know?"

"It's quite alright. Thank you, Haruna."

"Take care, Kazumi."

Kazumi hung up the phone and was finally able to look up the papers. Along with the papers, came a cassette tape. Looking at the envelope, Kazumi wondered where Sayo kept most of the other research files she and Haruna complete. The obvious was in her room, which made Kazumi feel a bit uncomfortable. Ever since the car accident, Kazumi didn't like to go into Sayo's room. She'd rather keep Sayo's room the way it was since that night. Even so, Kazumi had to bring the package up to Sayo's room and listen to the cassette.

"Anything I could do to help, Kazumi? It seems like you've got a lot on you."

"I can handle it. You can rest easy now, so don't worry about me."

"If you say so, Kazumi."

Chisame clicked the power button on the TV remote and had begun watching television with Chamo by her side. Kazumi walked upstairs and looked down the hall of the living room balcony. From where the stairs are, directly down the hall was Kazumi's room and before it, an intersection leading down another hallway. Down that other hall, Chisame's room was on the corner of the intersection. At the very end was Sayo's room. Kazumi opened the door and looked inside. As she expected – everything was left the way she and Sayo left it. The room was dark, with only feint light coming through the blue curtains of the windows, giving the room a blue light color. There she saw the desk where Sayo had kept most of her files and journals. The desk was a bit messy, but at least a tidier desk than Kazumi's. Kazumi smiled, knowing how Sayo used to spend time cleaning the house whenever she was off work. It was usually Sayo who kept the house clean and rather trendy when she was still around. That job belongs to both Kazumi and Chisame now, though the place was still a bit messy here and there. Kazumi then took a seat on the chair in front of the desk and set the papers in front of her to look at. At the corner of her eye, she saw Sayo sitting on the bed.

"Kazumi, that's a lot to look at. Would like some help researching those?"

"Oh its fine, I was just going to –"

When Kazumi turned her head to Sayo, she was gone. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. Kazumi looked at Sayo's bed and saw no evidence of anyone ever sitting there in the past few days, or even just now. She shook her head and continued to read whatever notes were in the package. All of the paperwork was written by Haruna. Kazumi picked up a notebook which Haruna had written; it stated that people believed the mansion to be haunted. Kazumi read the first page:

_( July 12, 2008 – 7:47pm ) The mansion being investigated is known as 'The Manor of Sleep'. It is believed that people come here if they want to meet the dead. However, it is rumored that if someone were to meet someone from the other side, they may never come back to reality. The living would be able to see the spirits of those who were love ones, from what I've been told before. Personally, I think this is just a big folktale. I'll further investigate this topic some other time. Perhaps maybe I could find out why they call it a 'manor of sleep'?_

Kazumi began to think about what she had seen at that very mansion. She saw Sayo, she was sure of it. And why else would she have the strange dreams about a large mansion following the spirit of the one person she fell most in love with? Kazumi turned the page:

_( July 14, 2008 – 1:54pm ) Today, I've visited the hospital to check up on my long-time friend, Nodoka Miyazaki. You haven't met her before, so I thought I'd bring this up to you. But asides that, Nodoka had been suffering from a strange reoccurring dream she's been having. She grew more and more restless each time she went to sleep. To add to my concern, she's sleeping longer each time; even when she does wake up, it'll only be at least two hours before she goes back to sleep. I am assuming that she's been having bad dreams of the day she was separated from our other friend, Yue Ayase. I hear her when she sleeps – always crying in her sleep, repeating Yue's name over and over; like she was calling her. I grow more worried about her as I hear her speak. Oh yes, that camera I sent you a few days ago, I tried showing it to Nodoka and she frantically ran to a corner telling me to get it away from her, crying. Honestly . . . I've no clue to what connection this camera has with Nodoka or Yue, but I must find out a reason. The Manor of Sleep . . . then again, I might be on to something . . . _

Kazumi decided not to read the rest of the notebook until later. Closing it, she thought about Nodoka's position. Bad dreams, restless nights . . . Kazumi thought she may be suffering from the same thing. Then, Kazumi began to recall the camera mentioned in Haruna's writing. She remembered Sayo kept it in her room, on her shelf. Kazumi looked at the desk again, through the papers. There, she found a small article about that very camera. The camera was known as 'The Camera Obscura' – a device created by Dr. Kunihiko Asou, a famous paranormal researcher and occultist. It was used to catch whatever cannot be seen with the naked eye. He came up with a few other devices, used to contact spirits, such as the spirit radio and a special projector. Included in the text was a picture of the camera. Kazumi set the article down – across from her, she found the camera looking back at her from the shelf beside Sayo's bed.

"The Camera Obscura . . . to see what cannot be seen with the naked eye?"

That night, as Kazumi got dressed for bed, she remembered that she had the tape cassette to listen to. She put the tape in the stereo in her room and hit the 'play' button. There was some static, but the voices in it can still be heard clearly. It was an interview with a resident who lived near the mansion by Haruna.

_Haruna: "So, have you heard the rumors of the mansion being a place where the living can meet the dead?"_

_Man: "Have I heard them? I'm experiencing them! I want nothing to do with all this . . . but it was my fault to enter . . . I just wanted to see my wife, one more time . . . "_

_Haruna: "Have you been having some strange visions? Perhaps . . . a series of bad dreams?"_

_Man: "Y-yes . . . I was standing in front of this large, towering, mansion . . . it was snowing, a-and there where these, um . . . these lanterns lighting a path to the building's entrance. There were lots of people too . . ."_

_Haruna: "Lots of people?"_

_Man: "Yeah . . . their faces were covered with a veil. I can't say why, but I know I saw my wife go inside. I know that if you go too far into the mansion, you could never come back . . . but I want to see my wife . . . "_

_Haruna: "Do you think . . . it would be worth it if you saw her again?"_

_Man: "I don't know . . . as much as I would like to . . . I just don't know . . ."_

The tape clicked as it reached its end. Kazumi took out the tape and set it aside the stereo. She sat on her bed and turned off the light, hoping she would get a decent night's sleep. Unfortunately . . . it seems that the dream might be there to stay.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	3. Hour 1: The Sign, Night 2

**:: Hour One ::**

_**The Sign**_

Night Two

"Why does this keep happening?"

Kazumi groaned, standing in the foyer-like hallway from last time. Near the door, she found a small flashlight. The lens was dirty and has a tiny crack on the side, as if they were dropped. Kazumi suspected it belonged to that panicking woman from before and thought that she must have dropped it in a panic. She checked to see if the flashlight still worked which, luckily, it did. Kazumi pointed the light down the hall began walking slowly down to the intersection. Suddenly, the woman came running across one hallway to another, startling Kazumi. She quickly followed the woman up a small flight of stairs and into another door. There she found herself alone in a large partitioned room. Kazumi progressed through whatever open screens there were and met up with another door.

"Hold on, what's this?"

Kazumi knelt down and picked up what looked like a scrapped piece of paper. She unfolded it and only a handful of words were scribbled onto it. It read:

"_It's not my fault . . . _

_. . . I did not choose to survive . . . "_

Kazumi stuffed the piece of paper in her pocket and stood up to leave the room. The door was slightly open, creaking loudly as it swayed open. Upon opening the door, Kazumi heard a scream up a large flight of stairs. It was the woman again. Kazumi followed her up the stairs and caught her turning a corner at the end of a long staircase hallway. She slowly pushed the door open and looked inside. She noticed that she was in the other side of the corridor she was in before, where she first saw the panicked woman. Kazumi followed the corridor until she walked into a small room with a blind. At the very far-end wall, she found the woman sitting against it.

"Hey . . . excuse me . . . "

There was still no reply. Then, by the woman's feet, Kazumi spotted what looked like a burnt passport. It had a picture of the woman's face.

Surname: _Sas . . . _

Given Name: _M _. . . _ie_

Nationality: _Japan_

Registered Domicile: unintelligible

The passport was scorched pretty badly in most places, but Kazumi could make out some of the thin writing.

"I think it says . . . 'Sasaki Makie' . . . could this be your name?"

Kazumi wondered, looking at the woman one more time. She still sat there, mumbling things to herself. At that time, Kazumi wasn't sure what she could do. She had no other place to go. And by leaving the room, she would be alone again. Suddenly, for the first time, Makie spoke to Kazumi.

"Please wake me up . . . I want to wake up . . . please . . . "

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At that moment, everything went black and Kazumi had felt like she fainted. When she came to, she found herself awake in her own bed. Kazumi sat up and felt the pain on her back return just like the last morning. To Kazumi, it felt like the 'bruise' on her back had grown slightly larger. She took a moment to gasp for air when she saw the Camera Obscura on her desk. Kazumi reached for it, and opened up the film compartment. To her surprise, Kazumi saw that she had used film inside the camera.

"But . . . I-I never used this camera . . . unless the pictures in here are ones I took when I was . . . "

She got up, got changed, and went downstairs to the darkroom. Kazumi began to develop the film and examined the photos. There were two developed pictures. One contained the image of the mother and daughter; the other contained a picture of Makie. Kazumi couldn't exactly believe what she was seeing. How could she have gotten pictures from a camera she had used in her dream? Just then, Kazumi heard the living room door close. Kazumi left the darkroom, with Makie's picture in hand and met up with Chisame. Chisame was dressed as though she was going out.

"Good morning, Kazumi."

"Good morning. Where are you going this early?"

"Oh, I was going to run some errands – maybe even pick up some groceries. Did you want something?"

Kazumi handed Chisame the picture of Makie.

"Do you happen to know who this is?"

Chisame adjusted her glasses and took a look at the photo. She nodded lightly.

"Yeah, I recognize her. She's Sasaki Makie. That girl was the only survivor of the plane crash that happened the other day. I hear now she's being hospitalized."

"Is that so . . ?"

After the talk with Chisame about Makie, Kazumi drove all the way to the hospital where Makie was being kept hospitalized. For the record, it was the first time Kazumi had been out of the house in a while. On the way, Kazumi remembered what it was Chisame had said about Makie.

"They said she was asleep for a long time. No one was even able to wake up."

When Kazumi arrived, she walked into Makie's room and saw her lying in her bed, asleep. Her face was rather pale and she seemed very ill. Kazumi sat next to her and tried to feel her forehead. Suddenly, a snake tattoo began to appear on Makie's neck, and eventually her whole face. Her eyes shot wide open, revealing bloodshot eyes. Kazumi shrieked and turned to back to find help. Before she had even begun to run, she heard a low, demonic voice.

"I don't want to see anymore . . ."

There was silence. Kazumi stopped and slowly began to walk back to Makie's bedside. Makie's head was no longer resting on the pillow. Kazumi suspected she might be under the covers, so she lifted the sheet off the bed. What was under the cover was not Makie, but rather what was left of her. Before Kazumi was a pile of black ash, leaving an outline of the body that was once Sasaki Makie.

"How in the world . . ? She had the tattoo as well . . ."

Kazumi left the hospital and drove home. She went into the living room and found Chisame in the kitchen, making some rice balls for lunch.

"Kazumi, you're back. Did you go to the hospital?"

Kazumi nodded and took a seat at the counter. She sighed sharply and rested her head on her hands, trying to shake off what she had witnessed. Chisame noticed Kazumi, wondering if anything bad happened to her during her visit to the hospital. She placed a rice ball in a napkin and handed it to Kazumi.

"What's wrong, Kazumi? You seem awfully stressed over a visit to the hospital. Did something happen?"

The vision and the voice she hear from Makie replayed itself over and over in Kazumi's mind like a broken record. Taking the rice ball, Kazumi took a bite, stalling time to think of a believable answer. She swallowed and simply answered back.

"Nothing, really."

"Nothing?"

Kazumi nodded and took another rice ball from the tray. Chisame had a hint that Kazumi did have something to hide, but wasn't all too concerned about it, taking into accounts Kazumi's loss that night. Kazumi munched on another rice ball, turning in her chair to face the living room window. Thin rays of light shined through the window curtains and the house was quite. The two of them listened to the rain outside. Chisame leaned against the counter.

"It hasn't stopped raining since that day . . . hasn't it?"

Kazumi shook her head lightly.

"It doesn't look like it'll stop for a long while . . . "

"Certainly does. Here."

Chisame handed a glass to Kazumi and poured in some beverage. She poured herself a glass as well and took a sip. Kazumi just stared at the faint reflection of herself in the glass. She sighed, feeling concerned and a bit scared of what may happen to her.

"_This tattoo_ . . ."

She thought, feeling the spot on her back. There was no pain when she felt it. Kazumi stared down at her glass again before deciding to actually have a drink of it. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She looked over to Chisame.

"Hey Chisame, is there anything on my back. Like . . . a bruise maybe?"

Kazumi loosened the jacket she wore just enough to show Chisame the spot where Kazumi felt the bruise every morning. Chisame had a look and saw nothing peculiar. Kazumi turned her head a bit to see Chisame.

"Well?"

"Nope, I don't see any bruise. Why?"

"I don't know. I just thought there might've been a bruise. I've been feeling a weird pain there for the past few days and I don't know why its there."

Kazumi said, taking her jacket off completely, so that Chisame could see the tank top she wore underneath. Chisame just shrugged, unsure of what to make of it. The two of them listened to the rainfall together; Chamo rolling himself into a ball as he was ready for a nap. To Kazumi, this time spent resting and trying to relax was probably what she needed. Chisame took another sip of her beverage and brought her glass to the coffee table, sitting next to the pet ermine. She sat down, and booted up her laptop computer. Kazumi got up from her chair, finished with her drink, and was going to head upstairs.

"Ah, Kazumi, could you do me a favor and bring down my charger? It should be in my room on my desk."

"No problem. It's the very least I could do for you for helping me out so much."

"Eheh, no problem, Kazumi. Thanks."

Upon arriving on the upper level, Kazumi clicked open Chisame's bedroom door. Chisame's room was neatly decorated and her personal belongings were neatly arranged on shelves and dressers. On Chisame's bed was a well-made dress and sun hat, made especially by Chisame. Kazumi admired the dress a bit and went for the laptop charger. There it was on the desk, Kazumi picked it up; rolling up the cord. What also caught Kazumi's attention was a picture frame on the desk. In the photo were Chisame and a slightly older man. Kazumi remembered Chisame mentioning she once had a crush on a previous journalist, who was also an aspiring novelist. It was a long time ago; however, Chisame never mentioned anything about what happened to him afterwards. Kazumi headed back downstairs, handing the charger over to Chisame.

"Here you go. Nice dress, by the way."

"Oh, the dress, it's not done yet, though."

"It's still nice, nonetheless. What're you making it for?"

Chisame's eyes were fixed onto the laptop screen and spoke.

"It's a hobby of mine, really. I like to design costumes."

Kazumi wanted to ask Chisame about the man in the photo, but saw that it was getting pretty late.

"Well, if you need me I'll be in the shower. I won't be long."

Kazumi grabbed some clean pajamas from her room and went downstairs to the bathroom. Later after her shower, Kazumi headed upstairs to her room and went to bed. Turning out the lights, she lay in her bed, still a bit shaky about what would happen if she went to sleep. She thought about what sort of dream she'll have then. Somehow, she has a feeling that she might meet with Makie again . . .

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	4. Hour 1: The Sign, Night 3

**:: Hour One ::**

_**The Sign**_

Night Three

There she was again. The Manor of Sleep – same place, same time all over again. Kazumi made her way towards to the intersection and sensed some strange presence. Unsure of where it was coming from, she went towards the hearth room. Up the stairs, she went into the corridor, where she felt the strange vibe become stronger. She also heard the mumbling of Makie and headed for the screen doors. Kazumi kept her distance however. Surrounding Makie were three shadowy figures.

"Are those the things that were following her?"

Although she hardly knew Makie, Kazumi felt responsible and decided to try and help Makie, as she intended to from the first time she met her in the dream. Kazumi had to make another trip through the manor's levels, seeing how she couldn't just get through the screen doors. As she walked through the partitioned screen room, at the end of the hall by the door, there was a doll on a dresser. Somehow, Kazumi felt like the doll was watching her. Its beady little eyes shined from the beam of her mini-flashlight. It sent a chill down her spine, learning that the doll's head was actually facing her. Kazumi knew she had to get to Makie somehow, so without minding the doll too much, she quickly walked past it. Her foot caught something on the floor and she almost tripped. Looking down, there was a piece of wood lodged into the tatami floor. When Kazumi lifted her head, there was that doll again . . . looking straight at her? She stood up and faced the door, beginning to feel her face become pale. Stepping through the door, Kazumi headed up the flight of stairs.

Upon reaching the very top, there were the three shadowy figures making their way towards the room Makie was sitting in. Kazumi ran over and opened the door. As she went inside, Makie seemed to have disappeared.

"But she was just here. Where could she –"

There, in the closet, Kazumi saw what looked like someone's face through the crevice of the closet's sliding door. Kazumi pointed her flashlight towards the closet and walked over to it. She slowly set her hand on the door, and opened it to reveal that it was another doll. This made Kazumi feel a little less tense than when she was trying to open the closet. At least that doll wasn't staring at her the whole time. She backed off, and suddenly found Makie sitting against the wall next to her.

"Make them go away . . . I don't want to see anymore . . . wake me up . . . make them go away . . . "

Kazumi looked down at Makie, oblivious to the shadowy figures standing behind her. She turned her head slowly and shrieked. The shadows limped towards Kazumi and were surprisingly quick and nimble. Kazumi took out the Obscura and aimed through the viewfinder. She shot a photo of one shadow, making it disappear right away. She did the same with the other two. Just when she thought it was fine to approach Makie, the three shadows reappeared around Makie. Forcing Kazumi to repeat the process of shooting their pictures again, Kazumi was being pushed back into a corner. Surrounded like Makie was earlier, Kazumi had to escape. Looking through the viewfinder, she found all three shadows in the frame and snapped the photo. The three of them moaned and faded away. Quickly, Kazumi got up and ran over to Makie.

"There, they're all gone now. You can get up now, Makie."

Makie didn't reply, but for once, she lifted her head and looked around the room. She certainly seemed fine through Kazumi's eyes, thinking she has helped a spirit finally able to rest in piece. Makie stood up, but all still wasn't well with Makie. Her head hung low, and she placed a hand on Kazumi's shoulder. The journalist felt a cold chill emitting from her shoulder all the way down her spine. She looked at Makie and noticed a very frightening feature: her feet had faded into thin air and her whole body seemed like it became transparent. Kazumi gasped and quickly backed away from Makie, releasing herself of Makie's cold grip.

". . . You're . . . you're not like me?"

Makie raised her head; she suddenly didn't seem like the paranoid patient from before. She opened her mouth wide and threw her arms out to grab Kazumi. She was able to grab Kazumi around her neck and began an attempt to strangle her. Kazumi didn't want to have to hurt Makie, but now that she had completely gone into the spirit world, Kazumi had no choice. She aimed her camera at Makie's face, also trying to keep herself from moving too much due to Makie's grip. Through the viewfinder, she noticed that Makie's face and skin were covered in the same snake tattoo she had seen on her back and on the blue woman. Frightened and surprised, her finger twitched to snap the photo, sending Makie away and through the wall. Kazumi gasped for air and tried to warm her neck with her own hands. She got up, frightened and tried to run off. As she turned around, there was Makie once more, staring into Kazumi's eyes, she reached out and grabbed her arms.

"No!"

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Kazumi shouted realizing that she had woken up, sitting up on her bed. She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach to wake her and her arms and neck still felt chilled form Makie. Her right arm though, still felt as though Makie was still holding onto it. Kazumi looked at her arm, only to find another's pale, white hand on it. Makie was sitting on the floor, staring straight at Kazumi, gripping her arm still. Kazumi could only stare in shock and before she knew it, Makie was gone.

Downstairs, Chisame approached Kazumi with a diary. She handed it to her as she they both sat down for breakfast.

"It came in the mail today. The hospital didn't think its right for them to keep this there. They knew you're part of the newspaper's journalism team, so they felt you could use it for something."

"It's a diary . . . by Sasaki Makie . . . "

Kazumi slowly opened the book and flipped to some of the most recent entries. The whole diary itself still seemed pretty new, and there weren't that many entries to begin with – the diary wasn't even complete if Makie had kept this for even a year or so. Kazumi began to read the first entry:

_8 / 10 : Sunny_

_I heard it's good for the heart to write in a diary and have someone read it. By doing this maybe I will stop seeing that terrible dream._

_I'm sad being all alone. If I can have someone read this, in some way, maybe I will connect with them._

Kazumi continued to read on, Chisame reading it as well. Turning the page, they found more:

_8 / 11 : Cloudy_

_My best friends died._

_But being alone is more frightening than even that harsh fact. More than the accident itself, being the only one living afterwards, waiting endlessly – that was more frightening._

_8 / 13 : Cloudy_

_I had a nasty dream. Snow fell on an old abandoned house. I'm all alone and lost, but they might all be in the house. I sensed that. I know that they're calling me inside. To see them all again . . . _

_Bit by bit, I go in deeper. I'm cold. It's getting dark. I can hear a song._

_Everyone's there. Yuuna, Akira, Ako, everyone besides me – all in there._

_They all left me behind, left me and went in . . . because only I survived._

After reading for some time, as well as understanding what Makie had gone through, Kazumi turned to the last entry in the diary:

_: Rainy? I'm not sure . . . _

_After sleeping several days, I'm only half-awake. Gradually I come not to know whether or not I'm awake or asleep._

_I told my doctor that the tattoo was spreading and the pain was becoming greater, but told me he couldn't see anything like that. I know I can see it. The doctor seemed interested when he listened to my story. Maybe he's just becoming more sympathetic. But the dream and pain are mine and mine alone. The pain is spreading._

When they thought they've read the last page, Chisame noticed some scribbling from behind the page.

"Kazumi wait, there's something else written there."

Kazumi flipped the page and found very rushed writing. Pieces of the page were even ripped in some corners, which was odd when the rest of the diary were still intact.

_It hurts. It hurts. It hurts._

_What should I do? What? Forgive me . . . _

_That woman is coming after me. I can even see her when I'm awake._

_I can't take being touched by her evil hands again._

_I don't want to see anymore . . . _

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	5. Hour 2: The Manor of Sleep, Night 4

**:: Hour Two ::**

_**The Manor of Sleep**_

Night Four

Throughout the rest of the day, Kazumi spent a lot of the time thinking about Makie's predicament. She asked Chisame to borrow her laptop and decided to do research about Makie and the plane crash. She also compared the similarities between the dreams and the known 'symptoms'. She took a seat on the counter and began tapping the keys on the keyboard.

"Sasaki, Makie, the lone survivor of a recent tragic plane accident. I already know that much about her."

Kazumi scrolled down the webpage containing Makie's info and about the plane crash as well as a list of all who died on the plane. Referring to the diary, Kazumi searched the pages for the names of Makie's three friends. Three of the suspected names matched the three from Makie's diary.

_Akashi Yuuna_

_Okouchi Akira_

_Izumi Ako_

"They were Makie's only friends, asides from family. Her parents, however, were both on a business trip outside of Japan and neither knew of the incident . . . This would really break their hearts . . . "

Kazumi continued reading the articles and hadn't stopped reading since. Night began to fall, the lights in the house were switched on and the television showing the news. There the reporter girl still hadn't left the laptop. During that time, she had found intriguing facts about the woman. Kazumi clicked and saved many of the documents she found, thinking that she could find more similarities in her case and Makie's. One article read:

_After the crash it took four days to find her (the search party found her on the 9th), Makie was very dehydrated, weak, and distressed. A doctor diagnosed her to even be emotionally ill and is suffering heavily from it. During those four days, Makie was surrounded by the corpses of other victims and her friends._

Kazumi then read what was said at the hospital Makie had been staying in.

_Shizuna-sensei, the nurse in charge of Sasaki Makie, took the time to have an interview with local reporters._

"_After hospitalization, she was extremely frightened of being alone or sleeping. She apparently had frightening dreams, and would even hurt herself to stay awake. But over time, the amount she slept grew longer, until she spent most of the day sleeping._

_At first I thought she was sleeping due to the psychological trauma she experienced, but her condition gradually grew worse, and she would sleep for three days straight. When she woke she would complain hallucinations, saying 'Pain' and 'There are bruises all over my body.'_

_As her hallucinations grew worse, she became less responsive to outside stimulus during her waking hours, and would sometimes mutter deliriously, or sing lullabies."_

_-- Shizuna_

At the bottom of the page, Kazumi read that there had been a slight update; this time on Makie's disappearance.

"_Here at the hospital, we've had a long-standing urban legend for our patients like Sasaki. While we've never quite had a patient quite like her, we've still had our share of what we call 'Lost Patients.'"_

Kazumi yawned a bit, looking at the clock on the laptop's task bar. It was late, and Kazumi had assumed Chisame had already gone to bed sometime ago. She logged off the laptop, shutting it down, and pulled out the plug to the charger. Kazumi let off a sharp sigh and set her hands over her face, exhausted and tired. She closed her eyes at the counter and didn't leave right away because her legs had fallen asleep.

"Kazumi . . . "

A voice had said her name in a deep and low tone. She looked up and saw a shadow standing at the stove. It was in the form of a person – an all too familiar person. She faced the stove, silently. Her head hung low, and her arms rested lazily by her sides. Kazumi carefully and quietly got out of her seat and walked slowly away from the counter. As she got closer to the stairs, she was planning to make a break for it when she realized that she forgot one thing.

"_Oh no, the laptop_ . . . "

She yelled at herself, under her breath, and swallowed her nervousness. Kazumi got on the floor and slowly crawled to the counter, reaching her hand up and felt the laptop and cord. Even though she resisted to, Kazumi became too curious to see if whoever was there still stood in the kitchen. She peaked ever over the counter. There was no one there. It was unnerving to think about. Feeling confident that she's free to go to her room, Kazumi stood and took one last look at around the living room area. No one was there. Once upstairs, Kazumi opened Chisame's bedroom door and found Chisame asleep, sitting on the floor. She set the laptop on her assistant's desk and walked over to her. Next to Chisame's side was the dress she planned to finish sewing.

"She must've fallen asleep while working on it."

Kazumi smiled and set a blanket over Chisame's lap after placing the dress and sewing equipment aside. Carefully placing a pillow behind her head, Kazumi switched the light off and left for bed. As she lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think about what other strange things would happen to her. And just like every night before, Kazumi was invited to spend her night at The Manor of Sleep. Expecting to wake up in the foyer halls again, Kazumi had noticed that she was on the ground. It felt like she had just closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them that she was suddenly on the ground.

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"Is this . . . That place from yesterday?"

Kazumi had woken up in the room where Makie and the shadows had attacked her. She pointed her flashlight around the room and turned around. She looked down and found what looked like a key on the very spot Makie used to sit on. It looked like an old key, red with rust. It had a four-point well pattern on it carved on its handle. Kazumi wondered what the key may open. Searching the room, there was nothing that needed a lock in it, so she decided to leave the room. There was a deep mumbling noise when she reached the door. It didn't sound like Makie – but then again, it didn't exactly sound human all together. Kazumi cautiously headed down the stairs hallway and took the farthest set of stairs down.

At the foot of the stairs, there were some shelves and boxes; Kazumi thought she might be in some supply area. She found that the room was a bit big for a supply room wit so little supplies and saw a small door near the other end. There, the door had a lock which had a four-point well pattern engraved on it. Kazumi slowly inserted the key in the lock and unlocked the door, crawling through. She saw that she was in another corridor. The whole manor seemed to have been laid out haphazardly and had gone through many extensions. She walked down the narrow path and turned a corner.

"What is that thing?"

There was a wall on the other end that has black, soot marked stain in the shape of a person. Above that and all the other similar stains on the wall were sacred ropes. The stains reminded Kazumi that of Makie's on the day she went to the hospital. While she was there, Kazumi heard knocking sounds behind the inner walls; behind the soot marks. Kazumi walked around the corridor find another small door and a regular door. She decided to take the larger one. When she got there, she found a human hand protruding from the wall next it. The air around it however, was glowing. Kazumi was scared to see the hand, but wondered about why it was glowing. She took a picture with the Obscura and the glowing went away. She figured that in order to see what it was she found, Kazumi had to have it developed. She walked out the door. Kazumi noticed that she was in a familiar place.

"I remember this place . . . It was the very first time I had this dream."

The funeral tombstones where there, and the candles were still lit. Snow fell slowly and sorrowfully from the open sky. The glows from the candles were warm, but nothing compared the cold, brooding manor. Kazumi saw the same double doors she had seen Sayo walk through, and grew somewhat excited. She ran over to the door and grabbed the large wooden handles tightly, trying to slide them open. It was no use. The doors were locked. There was yet again another lock, meaning there was another key somewhere in the previous areas, one would think. Kazumi ran back through the stained corridor to the head into the stairs hallway.

When Kazumi walked past one of the stained markings, she was oblivious to see that someone was there, watching her. She felt a cold breathing blow onto her neck, stopping her with fright. To her left and right, pale white hands slowly began to throw themselves around Kazumi's neck. Thinking quickly, she ducked and dashed forward, turning to see who or what it was that tried to harm her. It was a man dressed in white. Unlike the other encounters Kazumi had, this one seemed much more aggressive. He moaned loudly and tried lunging at Kazumi. The reporter girl took out the camera, but was too late on the draw. The man grabbed her neck and did not hesitate on using all his power to kill her. Kazumi flashed the camera and he let go of her quickly, but did not fade away like others did.

"It's too dangerous. I have to get out of here, quickly."

She quickly turned and ran through the little door leading to the staircase hallway and chose to go the only way she hadn't gone while she was there before – up. She took the upper staircase ascended. At the top was a storage room. At the end of that room, a man in white was startled and ran through the wall, which conveniently had another small door. Kazumi opened it and found herself on a roof which ran alongside the mid-section of the building. Across from her, on one side of the roof, there was a door which led to a small empty room, with nothing but a broken sliding screen door. Much to Kazumi's surprise, however, there was the key needed to open the door. Taking it, Kazumi walked out the door and across the snow covered roof. When she looked down however, it was like déjà vu.

From above, Kazumi saw her beloved Sayo fade through the door. She grew content on just catching up to her, that she had the urge to jump down. But seeing how high she's standing, it could really injure her, and who knows how that'll affect her when she wakes up.

Kazumi backtracked to the stained corridor and left that room through the door leading to the courtyard. Kazumi walked over to the door and inserted the key into the lock and slid the doors open. There was a dark foyer with a hallway leading to a three-way intersection and three doors; all similar to the entrance at the very start of the manor. And there, walking down that hallway, was Sayo. She looked a little different in the dream however, but all Kazumi could tell was that her hair was now a silver color. Kazumi tried calling out to Sayo.

"Sayo, wait! There's something I have to say!"

Sayo didn't respond, but Kazumi kept calling.

"Sayo!"

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It was morning. Kazumi realized that she was shouting at nothing. The pain was still there, shoving its usual back-stabbing needle into Kazumi's back again. The rain outside had not ceased and lightly sprinkled on the window. Getting dressed for another not too productive day at home, Kazumi headed downstairs to eat when she found out that the telephone was ringing. She picked it up.

"Hello, Asakura speaking."

"Good morning, Kazumi. It's Chisame."

"Oh hey, where'd you go this early in morning?"

"I'm at the office. I found some more info on Makie, in case you're still content on learning about her. It's on my desk, so go take a look if you're interested."

There was a brief pause before Chisame spoke again.

"I'm a little worried about this . . . There's one other thing I wanted to check out. I'll be back later when I finish."

"I understand. Thanks."

Kazumi hung up the phone, as did Chisame. She felt a bit bothersome about going into Chisame's room while she was out. Makes her feel like she's trespassing, even with permission. But as a reporter for the papers, she supposed it was something she just had to get used to. Chamo was in the room and was just walking around, venturing through some of Chisame's things. Kazumi walked to the desk and noticed the pile of reference material Chisame had laid out for her. She took one of the files which contained a small newspaper clipping.

_On the night of the 9th, a patient disappeared from her ward in Mahora's Katsuragi Hospital, and the police are currently searching for her._

_The missing person is the sole survivor of the August plane crash, Sasaki Makie. The hospital's response to her disappearance went no further than, "We are investigating the details."_

_Concerns have been raised on her whereabouts._

Taking the pile of references, Kazumi she set them all on the shelf in her room. She then took a look at the Camera Obscura sitting on her desk and remembered that she had taken a photo or two in the dream she had last night. She went downstairs to the living room and walked to the darkroom to develop her photos. The pictures she took were exactly as she saw them in the dream. Kazumi hung the photos up to dry and left to have something to eat. Sitting at the counter, Kazumi tried taking a load off of all the emotional drama and stress from investigating and the dreams.

It was eight o'clock and Chisame had just arrived home. Kazumi really had nothing else to do at the time. She sat on her bed with Chamo by her side, reading a book to pass the time and to help her get some sleep. It wasn't the best logic, but Kazumi thought that if she where to fall asleep quickly, she would wake up quickly, hoping have a short dream or no dream at all. It was then she leaned onto her pillow that she remembered that she had to develop earlier that morning. Kazumi headed downstairs once again, with Chamo scuttling by her side. All but the living room lamp light were off in the house. Upon entering the hallway, Kazumi had noticed Chamo had stopped in place.

"What's the matter Chamo-kun? Is there something bothering you?"

The little ermine ran up Kazumi shoulders as she knelt to him.

"You look like you've just seen a – "

Down the hall, the door to the dark room slowly swung open, leaving no sound of the door even opening. Kazumi kept a hand on Chamo over her should, assuring the lovable house pet that everything would be alright. Kazumi set her ear close to the little crevice through the door. She could not hear anyone or anything in there, and thought she just didn't close the door all the way that morning. Upon entering, she found her developed photos still hanging as she had left them. She took them down and walked out. Kazumi opened Chisame's bedroom door and found Chisame sitting at her desk.

"Hm, Kazumi? What can I do for you?"

"I know it's late to ask you, but could you look up these photos for me?"

"Certainly, I can look them up tomorrow."

"Thanks a lot."

Kazumi made her way towards the door when Chisame called to her.

"Oh, Kazumi . . ."

"Yes?"

"G-good night, Kazumi."

Kazumi smiled and nodded.

"Good night, Chisame."

In her own room, Kazumi turned out the lights and went off to bed, expecting the worse yet to come.

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Indeed the set up was familiar – a dark brooding manor, snow, and candle-lit paths all make up one chilling visit to a place that seldom sees the light of day. As she lay on the floor, opening her eyes, Kazumi saw another figure walking down a candle-lit hallway. It was like déjà vu, as she watched Sayo walk down that hall, calling her name as she had been the night before. Something was different though. The room wasn't dead-silent as it were previously. Kazumi listened closely to what sounded like a slow, subduing lullaby.

_Sleep priestess, lie in sleep . . . Sleep priestess, lie in sleep . . . _

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


End file.
